Singapore may decriminalize
oral sex between men and women, a government minister said on Tuesday, but
homosexual oral sex looks set to stay illegal.

The move follows a highly publicized case of a 27-year-old policeman jailed
for two years in November for receiving consensual oral sex from a 15-year-old
girl.

That case provoked rare public criticism of Singapore's government. Protests
over the law filled newspaper forum pages and buzzed in Internet chat rooms.

In an earlier case detailed in the Straits Times a wife tried to punish her
unfaithful husband by performing oral sex on him and then reporting him to the
police.

In parliament Junior Home Affairs Minister Ho Peng Kee said the law could be
revised in two to three months.

"One option being considered is to decriminalize consensual oral sex between
a male and female so long as it is done in private and both of them are above 16
years of age," Ho said.

But a lingering ban on homosexual fellatio could stoke controversy at time
when Singapore is emerging as an Asian gay entertainment hub following the
opening of a number of gay-friendly cafes and clubs.

Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong made a low-key acknowledgement last year that
gays now worked in the public service.

Critics have pointed out the irony of the law in a country where prostitution
remains legal. Ho said the law was mostly used to prosecute cases involving
minors, or mentally and physically handicapped people.

Singapore is relaxing other laws such as rules on bungee-jumping, bar-top
dancing and chewing gum in a bid to shake off its stuffy image and lure foreign
professionals.